Meet the Team - Emily D

Thursday, September 1, 2016 9:15:00 PM America/New_York

An accountant by trade, unexpectedly a mother, a total bookworm, and a textile fanatic. I really love fabrics of all kinds. Mabel Madison was 'born' of that love.

How I got into sewing...

My former mother-in-law was a very competent and rather prolific seamstress. She sparked the interest. I took a quiltmaking class through the County Extension program while living in the wilds of Maine in 2002 and that fanned the flames. I enjoy sewing straight lines and finicky seams!

I never got into clothing, though. Too much 3-D action going on there. But... when the second child was little, some 'mom friends' who were big into sewing convinced me to give it a shot, and I did some simple things. Between you and me, I still prefer straight lines, but it's nice to know that I CAN do other things, you know? :)

I do continue to make clothing for the kids from time to time, and I've branched out from plain woven cotton fabrics to knits and corduroy and velour! Personal growth is good.

What I like to sew

Well, I've already answered THAT, haven't I? When it comes to clothes for my daughter, I love, love, love Jocole's Circle Flounce Dress - it's so easy to make and has such a great shape. Oh, and the twirl. Can't forget the twirl. It's a great way to show off some super fun fabric, and match it with something complimentary. You can see my latest version in the Mabel Madison Modern Makers group this week. (You are a member, right?) The Aurthi by Tikatuly is another favorite for little girls. We have passed a few down to cousins and they are enjoying a second run of wear. The reversibility is just a huge bonus!

My son likes raglans - says the seams don't tickle his armpits like other shirts do (I have no idea what this means, exactly - I just report what I hear), and I really need to get on the stick and make him a bunch more.

My hopes for Mabel Madison

I hope that MM will become a destination for the sewing community for high-quality fabrics at an affordable price. I'm pretty selective about what the shop offers because if I wouldn't use it, I won't ask anyone else to either! We have big plans for the next year and can't wait to share them with you. The team is incredible - Melissa, Ronda, Essence, Laura and Heather are amazing women with mad sewing skills. I'm so lucky to have them behind me! The focus of the shop is unparalleled customer service. Between me and my husband, we cut, pack and ship everything as quickly as possible (and yes, sometimes the kids help, too! If you ever get a packing slip with a colorful addition, you know where it came from), because getting fun stuff in the mail should never take a long time. Plus, when you wanna sew, you wanna sew NOW!

I love all of the fabrics in the shop. I really do. Some of them just become favorites, though, and I may or may not have snagged some of these for myself.